The story of the black silk female knight

She could only tentatively ask the phantom thief:

"This time, we're ambushing your mortal enemy, Senior Sister. You'll help us out, right?"

"...Of course I really want to smash that stinky rat's head in with my own hands."

Miss Phantom Thief sighed:

"Unfortunately, it's not very effective... Although we Revelers are a very loose organization, almost as loose as those interest alliances, we still have some rules, such as prohibiting infighting among members."

If it weren't for that stinky rat who broke the rules by plotting against me in Klar City, I wouldn't have been able to leak this information to you, my junior sister.

However, leaking information is already the limit; I absolutely cannot take action myself… Junior sister, you wouldn't want to see your senior sister being ostracized and hunted down by the other revelers, would you?”

"So that's how it is..."

Valensa wasn't too surprised; she just shrugged somewhat helplessly.

"So, can you at least tell me about your arch-nemesis, Senior Sister, and what her plans are? You always call her 'stinky rat,' could she possibly be...?"

"Yes, it's that infamous guy you're thinking of."

Miss Phantom Thief nodded:

"Codenamed Gray Rat, he is skilled at summoning and controlling various rat-like monsters, as well as various curses. He is a rather insane guy who has committed many tragedies... The most famous and widely known of these is probably the Griman massacre nine years ago."

"So he really is the one who committed the Griman massacre..."

Valensa's beautiful brows furrowed slightly.

She was just a little girl when the Griman tragedy happened. Although she only overheard snippets of conversation from the adults, she was still terrified and it left a deep impression on her.

Griman is not a place name, but a surname, referring to a local nobleman in the Kingdom of Fran.

While their family's heritage couldn't compare to that of the great nobles in the capital, the Griman family had produced a rising star at the time, and their fortunes were improving in every aspect. With some effort, it wasn't impossible for them to join the ranks of the true great nobles.

To ensure the continuation of the family's high-end combat power, the Griman family was planning to recruit a young man with great talent in cultivation to marry into the family and run the family together with Miss Griman, who was the heir.

As a result, on the day of Miss Griman's wedding, Gray Rat committed her infamous tragedy... Dozens of members of the entire Griman family were killed, and Miss Griman herself watched as her fiancé had his limbs broken and was fed to the rats, completely breaking her spirit.

The only survivor, Miss Griman, is currently receiving treatment at a facility somewhere in the capital. She becomes extremely frightened and hysterical whenever she hears any noise that sounds like a rat.

"It seems you've heard about that incident too..."

The phantom thief sighed and said:

"Then you should be able to guess the perverse taste of that bastard Gray Rat... That's right, her filthy and ugly heart makes her jealous of all young and promising beautiful women."

What that bastard Gray Rat loves to do most is to appear at the happiest and most hopeful moments of these women, destroy everything they have with cruel means, and then laugh wickedly at their pain and despair.

The Griman massacre was just one of the most infamous atrocities Grey Rat committed, but not the only one… even among the Revelers, she was considered a particularly awful person.

"That bastard deserves to die!"

A cold glint flashed in Valensa's eyes, then her mind raced, recalling her experiences that day, and she couldn't help but slightly open her mouth:

"Wait a minute... Gray rats love to prey on young women with promising futures, and Yashiro is about to personally oversee the Thanksgiving Festival, which is of great significance to her. Could it be that..."

"It's that one, could it be?"

Miss Phantom Thief shrugs:

"This time, the target of the gray rat is the young lady of the Nora Chamber of Commerce, Yashilo Nora. She wants to destroy everything that this young lady has."

"Ah this..."

Valensa was somewhat stunned, and shocked by the gray rat's madness and audacity:

"That's the young lady of the Nora Merchant Guild, one of the richest people in the entire Kingdom of Fran and even the continent of Frenoia. The Nora Merchant Guild has stood at the pinnacle of the business world for hundreds of years, and its foundation is no less than that of the great noble families. It is definitely not comparable to the Griman family of yesteryear."

Furthermore, the Nora Merchant Guild's appreciation festival will invite many other dignitaries and powerful figures of the Radiant Rank. Just how arrogant is Gray Rat that he would cause trouble at such an event?

"...Well, this matter is also related to me."

The phantom thief was silent for a few seconds before letting out a wry smile:

"Do you remember the big thing I did? The time I stole the princess's birthday present... That level of recklessness was something to brag about even among the revelers, and I was proud of it for a long time."

That stinky rat was very dissatisfied with this and always wanted to create a similar big event to prove that she was no weaker than me.

The Nora Merchant Guild is still quite different from the Fran royal family, but the scale of the Thanksgiving Festival and the number of powerful figures who will appear are similar to the Queen's birthday banquet.

Furthermore, given the rotten nature of that rat, he must be extremely jealous of Yashilo Nora, so…”

"So she's definitely going to cause trouble at the Nora Chamber of Commerce's appreciation festival this time? Tsk..."

Valensa gritted her teeth:

"This is troublesome... I just promised my friends I'd take them out that day."

"That's why I'm waiting for my junior sister here and telling her all this."

The phantom thief hugged Valensa tightly, comforting her with gentle caresses.

"I was actually at the Nora Chamber of Commerce today, and I knew that you had also been invited to the Thanksgiving Festival, which is why I changed my mind at the last minute."

"Changed your mind?"

Valensa raised an eyebrow curiously, her cheeks flushing slightly from the phantom thief's restless hands.

"What were your original plans, Senior Sister?"

"The original plan..."

The phantom thief gave a self-deprecating laugh:

"I originally wanted to give Miss Yashiro a heads-up, although given my status, she probably wouldn't believe me."

After saying that, he lowered his head and gently licked Valensa's ear:

“But things are different now. Junior sister, you’re so smart, you’ll definitely be able to prevent the tragedy from happening.”

Chapter 118 You're actually a succubus, aren't you?

"Yes, I will do my best to stop the gray rats."

Valensa ignored the phantom thief's teasing gestures and remained serious.

“Yashilo is already my friend, and I absolutely do not want to see her become the tragic heroine like the eldest daughter of the Griman family, especially since this matter concerns my own safety.”

"Yes, I believe you can do it, junior sister!"

The phantom thief's actions became increasingly audacious, and she even licked Valensa's earlobe.

"Senior sister, be serious!"

Valensa finally blushed and grabbed the phantom thief's hand, even turning her head slightly away.

"You just said you prefer young, handsome guys... so why are you so eager for me now?"

"...This is indeed a rather strange matter."

The phantom thief actually thought about it for a few seconds, and withdrew her hand that had been teasing Valensa, observing it thoughtfully in front of her eyes for a while:

"I always feel that you have a very special charm, junior sister, that makes people unable to resist... junior sister, could you be a succubus hiding among humans?"

"How could such a pure female knight be a succubus?"

Valensa gave a playful, teasing remark with a sparkle in her eyes, then quickly became serious:

"Alright... Senior sister, you should hurry up and tell them more about that gray rat... like her most difficult points to deal with and her weaknesses."

"The strengths and weaknesses of gray rats... um."

When her arch-nemesis was mentioned, the phantom thief finally stopped being frivolous and rested her chin on her hand, saying:

"Her weakness is probably the same as most summoning classes: she's not strong in direct combat. Most Star-level warriors can easily defeat her if they get the chance. That's how I beat her up."

"Is its combat strength relatively weak compared to others of the same level? This is a common weakness of summoning-type characters."

Valensa nodded, but her expression wasn't very optimistic:

"She should also have the advantages of the summoning system, right? Like using endless summoned beasts to fight a war of attrition. Even when facing multiple opponents of the same level, as long as she hides her main body, she can outlast them."

"That's for sure, but that's not the most dangerous place for gray rats."

The phantom thief became extremely serious at that moment, even emphasizing each word:

"The most dangerous thing about Gray Rat is her strange curse... Once she succeeds, even a Moon-level expert could suffer a great loss."

"A curse that even Moon-level experts would suffer greatly from? Is it that powerful?"

Valensa's beautiful eyebrows were completely furrowed, and her temples were throbbing slightly.

"Could you tell me what kind of curse it is, Senior Sister?"

"I can't really say exactly what it will be like, because revelers aren't friends, and they can't show each other their cards, especially since we're mortal enemies."

The phantom thief gave a wry smile, then pondered for a moment and said:

"However, based on my investigation of her, I still have some guesses... Although her curse is very effective once it succeeds, the conditions for activation are also quite harsh... or rather, strange."

For example, I once witnessed her use a "laughing-to-death curse"... The condition was that you had to laugh five times within three seconds after hearing her joke for it to take effect; people who didn't laugh, laughed a lot, or laughed little were unaffected.

"The conditions are very demanding, right? But the curse's effect is also very powerful... it can make someone laugh incessantly, laughing until they die from exhaustion, even a Star-level expert can't stop."

"It really is a very strange curse..."

Valensa nodded, seemingly lost in thought:

"Could it be that the effect of her strange curse is related to the conditions? The more stringent the conditions, the more powerful the effect of the curse, and conversely, the more lenient the conditions, the milder the curse might be?"

"Probably, but I'm not entirely sure."

Miss Phantom Thief shrugs:

"In short, junior sister, remember not to stand out or get noticed by her. Observe the changes around you. If all else fails, pretend that you are also under a curse... You should still be able to protect yourself."

Your most important task is still to get this message to the right people... and let those big shots deal with this scoundrel.

"Well, I know."

Valensa nodded obediently.

She certainly didn't want to face Gray Rat, a Star-level expert, but just in case, she still had to make some preparations.

There are still two weeks until the Nora Chamber of Commerce's annual appreciation festival, so we should have enough time.

"That's all for now. I'll come back to you if I get any new information."

After discussing the gray rat, Miss Phantom Thief prepared to leave.

"Sister, wait a minute!"

Valensa, however, grabbed the hand of the phantom thief:

"I also need your help, senior sister... to be precise, I need to find out information about someone."

"To gather intelligence?"

Miss Phantom Thief paused for a moment:

"You're asking me for information... are you some kind of reveler?"

"Ah."

Valensa nodded slightly:

"Senior sister, you mentioned before that there was a cult-addicted psychopath among the revelers who was just as good at disguise as you... That person must be the Sin Angel, right?"

I want to catch her... or rather, get some information from her... Senior sister, do you have any way to contact her?

"...Oh, you angel of sin..."

Unexpectedly, the phantom thief's tone suddenly became complicated:

"I used to be quite familiar with her, and I even learned a large part of my ability to impersonate others from her."

However, the last time I saw her was nine years ago. After that, she completely disappeared. Nobody knows where she is. The revelers are almost erasing her from their records.

"...Is that so?"

Valensa's expression turned strange.

Nine years ago... If you think about it, wasn't that exactly when the Sinful Angel and Dr. Karen were dating and getting married? Could it be that she really fell in love back then and was planning to retire from her life of crime?

If that's the case, then where has she been for the past three years?